BICOM

An Iranian national carrying a fake Israeli passport was arrested last week in Nepal, suspected of planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu, according to a report by Israeli Channel 2 News yesterday.

According to reports, Israeli embassy staff apprehended the man who was acting suspiciously in the area of the Israeli mission, and turned him over to Nepalese police. local media repors said the police have launched an investigation into possible terror offences, naming the man as Mohsin Khosravian. His fake Israeli passport, in the name of Alexander, was apparently acquired in Kuala Lumpur.

Channel 2, quoting Israeli sources, notes this was a further attempt by Iran to target Israeli government targets around the world, following attempts in Georgia, India and Thailand last year.

Iran’s global campaign against Israeli targets is an attempt to deter Israel from targeting individuals and facilities associated with its nuclear programme. Iran, acting in coordination with Hezbollah, has made numerous attempts to target Israeli tourists overseas, and is believed responsible for the bombing in Bulgaria last summer that killed five Israeli tourists and their Bulgarian driver.

In a related development, the Jerusalem Post reported yesterday that just weeks after the Burgas bombing last summer, Bulgarian authorities arrested a Canadian citizen with Iranian links engaged in surveillance of a Jewish communal centre in Sofia.